Annabel Lee
by albuspercivalwulfricbrian
Summary: Annabel Lee is an Auror, Professor, member of the Order of the Phoenix, and Sirius Black's former girlfriend. What many people don't know is that she knew Remus first, and what will happen when they're reunited and learn the truth about that Halloween.
1. Many and Many a Year Ago

_A/N: Hi guys! This is a story that I've had sitting on my computer for a while now, that I've decided to reformat..and in some chapters rewrite, and post. Unfortunately, I hit a block at around chapter twelve. But I'm hoping that posting what I have done already, will motivate me to finish it, since this story has been in my mind for a really long time. Thanks for checking it out!_

A small boy with sandy hair sat by the sea shore. The weather looked as if it were about to rain, and the wind was gusting, but he didn't care, he was angry. His parents had made him come to this stupid cottage by the sea shore, when all he wanted to do was stay at home in his bedroom.

He lived a horrible life now, ever since his father had insulted Fenrir Greyback. In retaliation Fenrir had bitten him, and he had since been a werewolf. He of course wasn't allowed to go to a normal muggle school, and since he was too young to go to Hogwarts he had spent most of his time alone, or in the company of his parents. His parents, they had been working very hard to find a cure for his terrible lycanthropy, but the boy just wished that they would accept it as he had. They had planned this trip to the coast of France to take his mind off of things.

So far he had to admit that he had enjoyed himself, he loved the feeling of the sun on his skin, and he rather enjoyed swimming in the pale blue surf. But this evening he had walked in on his parents plotting to go in search of a medicine man here, and the boy had ran out of the cottage in a fit of rage.

"Remus! Please Remus come back!" His mother had called at him as he ran away, but he ignored her. He picked up a rock and hurled it into the angry waves, the sea that had been so inviting was now dark and treacherous.

"What are you doing out here? You'll catch your death." A small voice with a slight french accent said behind him. Remus whirled around,a small girl with long thick dark hair and shocking grey eyes was staring back at him. She had deathly pale skin, and she looked about the same age as him.

"I don't care. What are you doing out here? Your a girl, your more delicate then me." Remus said putting a hand on his hip. He didn't have time to talk to some stupid girl.

"I'm not delicate!" She said glaring at him "Besides, I'm running away." She finished matter of factly. Remus was intrigued, maybe he could run away too, away from his parents.

"Oh really? Where are you going?" He asked looking at her.

"I'm going to England. My mum went to school there, and I want to go to school there too, although I'll have to wait until I'm eleven. I suppose I could find somewhere to live until then." She said thoughtfully, she must have forgotten that she wouldn't have any where to go once she got there.

"I'm from England." Remus said simply before throwing another rock into the churning sea.

"Why are you running away anyway?" He asked "I hate my parents." She said as she pushed some sand around with her foot.

"Me too." Remus said wondering if everybody's parents were horrible, or if some people were lucky.

"What'd they do to you?" He asked looking over at her again. She lifted up her shirt a little, revealing pale skin with a large angry bruise across her stomach. Remus winced back in shock, the center of the bruise was dark purple and it slowly faded out to a green color at the edges, it took over most of her stomach.

"Merlin." He gasped, maybe his parents weren't so horrible after all.

"What's your name?" She asked him as she lowered her shirt and smoothed it over her stomach.

"Remus, What's yours?" There was a shouting in the distance "Annabel Lee." She said quickly and a tall man with large square shoulders tore down the beach towards them.

"Get home. Now." He said glaring at Annabel, she nodded and looked at the floor as she followed him away from Remus, but not before she slipped a small note in his hand._ 'Meet me here again tomorrow night. Same time_.'

Remus shuddered, she probably wouldn't even be alive then.

Remus had gone back to his parents and apologized shortly after Annabel had walked away from him. They accepted his apology, and agreed to try and accept Remus for what he was, werewolf and all. He had decided that he shouldn't tell his parents about Annabel, he didn't know why, but he felt that she should be a secret. The next night was clear and warm, and Remus' parents surprisingly didn't object to him leaving by himself. He suspected that they had wanted to give him some breathing room since he had blown up yesterday. When he reached the spot on the beach she was already there waiting for him, sitting in the sand and gazing out at the sea.

"You came." She said simply looking over at him, she had a tone of surprise. Remus noticed that she had a large gash underneath her eye.

"Yeah, well, It's not like I had anything else to do." He said kind of awkwardly sitting down next to her.

"Why does he do that to you?" Remus asked, indicating the cut on her face.

"I don't know. It makes him feel better I guess." She said drawing a line in the sand with her finger. Remus frowned, she had the worst parents ever, much worse then his.

"That's not fair though!" He said scowling at the sand.

"Life isn't fair. It's not fair that they do that to me, and it's not fair that you're a werewolf." She said glancing at him. Remus' mouth hung open in shock.

"You know? You know and your not scared?" He asked, his eyes as wide as dinner plates

"Of course I'm not scared. What's to be scared of? It's not the full moon, it's not as if you'll hurt me now." She said shrugging.

They spent a long time talking that night, and they met every night after that. Remus was glad to have a friend, and she seemed to feel the same way. The last night of the Lupins holiday Remus waited until his parents were asleep before sneaking out of the little cottage. He climbed out of his window, with a sandwich wrapped in a napkin for Annabel, she was always hungry. He was excited to see her tonight, he always looked forward to their talks, she wasn't like any of the other girls that he had ever met. She liked to talk about things like quidditch, and she liked to read her parents books on magic, just like he did. When Remus got to the beach it was empty, she usually got there before he did so he was a little surprised. After half an hour he began to get nervous, what if she had gotten caught sneaking out? After an hour Remus was really starting to get anxious.

"Remus? What are you doing out here?" Remus heard his father say from next to him.

"Nothing. I just thought I would get out for a little air." He lied looking up at his father.

"Well come along now, your mother will be having a fit." Mr. Lupin said pulling his son up.

Remus grudgingly followed, making a large dent in the sand as he got up so that Annabel would know that he had at least been there. Remus followed his father silently back to the dark cottage, and wasn't surprised when his parents magically locked his bedroom window and door so that he wouldn't go wandering off again. He couldn't wait until he got his wand and would be able to undo simple magic like that. He kicked his dresser, now he wasn't going to be able to say goodbye to Annabel. He collapsed on his bed and fell into a night of fitful sleep.


	2. A Kingdom By the Sea

The summer before Remus was going to begin Hogwarts, his parents had decided that they should go back to the French coast for a bit of a holiday. Remus hadn't been there since he was seven or eight, but he remembered the trip vividly. Sometimes he wondered if he had imagined Annabel Lee. After that summer his parents had decided to move to a small town in the English countryside, and that was where Remus met his best friend James Potter.

James was a bit full of himself, but he was really kind to Remus, and he didn't mind his 'furry little problem' as he called it. He was also loads of fun to play with on those long summer afternoons, they always found something to entertain themselves. Remus had asked if James could come this time they went on holiday and his parents agreed.

So they spent long sun drenched hours playing in the sand and surf, both sporting deep tans. It wasn't until their fourth night there that Remus saw Annabel. Well actually James saw her first when they were having a catch that evening on the beach.

"Woah! Look at that girl over there!" He said pointing to a deathly pale girl who was being chased by a boy just a pale and dark haired as she was.

"What about her?" Remus asked defensively, he hadn't actually expected to see her again.

"OOOOH Reemy's got a crush!" James said obnoxiously and purposely threw the ball near her. Remus blushed furiously as he went over and picked it up.

"Remus?" He heard that same voice with the light accent again.

"Annabel?" Just then James walked over and snatched the ball out of Remus' hands.

"Hi. I'm James." He said holding a hand out to her, she took it, grinning.

"I'm Annabel Lee." She said straightening up, the little boy that she had been chasing had apparently run back to his mother.

"Annabel Lee? That's a weird name." James said pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"That's not very polite. I didn't say anything about your name." She said still grinning.

"My name? What's there to say about James? It's the best name there is." He said haughtily, but Annabel kept on grinning.

"Well generally every boy I met named James is horrible at holding on to things!" She shouted before quickly taking the ball away from James and running down the beach.

"Oi! Get back here!" James called after her and he and Remus followed her down the beach laughing and shouting the whole way.

They played a three way game of catch for a while and Remus was relieved to see that Annabel and James got on well. After some time they stopped and collapsed in the sand, each sitting indian style in a circle.

"What happened to your face?" James asked abruptly, pointing to the large bruise that framed her eye. Annabel glanced over at Remus who had visibly tensed, leave it to James to say something like that.

"My father hits me." She said very bluntly,as if it was a common thing to say.

"What!" James shrieked Remus sighed, he would never hear the end of this.

Annabel went into a long winded explanation about that was just how her father expressed his feelings and he didn't know another way. It sounded very mechanical, as if she was repeating something that had been told to her many times. They talked for a long time that night, and they met up every night after that. They spent a lot of time talking about quidditch and the upcoming school year. Remus and James were upset to learn that Annabel would be attending Beauxbatons next year, They had been hoping that she would be going to Hogwarts. Remus had remembered Annabel telling him that her mother went to school in England, but her father apparently decided it would be better that she attend school in France.

"Where is she?" James asked on their final night there, they had walked to the beach to meet up with Annabel as they usually did, but she wasn't there.

"She didn't show up to say goodbye the last time I was here either." Remus said shrugging, he had never remembered to ask her why.

"Bugger. I had wanted to say goodbye to her." James said a little dejectedly. Remus couldn't decide if he liked the fact that James got on so well with Annabel. It wasn't as if he fancied her or anything, it was just that since he was seven years old, Annabel Lee had been his special secret friend. They waited there for about an hour before giving up and going home. The next morning they looked around on the beach before they left, but she wasn't there. So they packed up their things with Remus' parents and left France for England, and began readying for school the following week.

"Wow! This place is beautiful Remus!" Lily said looking around the cottage.

"Yeah, World class digs!" Sirius said flopping down on the couch.

"It was really kind of your parents to let us holiday here for the week." She said grinning and waving her wand at everybody's trunks, sending them to the appropriate bedrooms.

The five of them had just graduated Hogwarts, and Remus' parents, on a suggestion from Dumbledore, had given them the keys to the summer cottage on the coast of France for the week. Remus knew that it was to distract them from the impending war, Dumbledore had told them that he had formed a secret resistance to Voldemort just before they had left for France, and they all enthusiastically signed up.

James and Peter were already raiding the kitchen and Remus, Sirius, and Lily had gone to change into swimsuits, they were ready for a day of fun in the sun. Lily packed a few lunches and snacks and they were off to the beach.

James, Remus and Sirius were playing catch on the beach, Lily was reading a book under the umbrella, and Peter was eating his lunch, when suddenly a streak of pale skin flew by and stole the ball right out of James' hands.

"I told you. Every guy named James has a problem holding on to his balls!" She shouted over he shoulder and ran towards the ocean. Remus and James exchanged looks with each other grinning broadly, before taking off after her, with a very confused Sirius following close behind.

"Annabel!" Remus shouted and grabbed her by the waist spinning her around. She hugged him tightly, before letting go and hugging James.

Remus glanced over at Sirius who was eyeing her with interest. Remus looked at her, she looked nothing like the eleven year old girl that he remembered. She had grown taller, she was just half a head shorter then Remus. She was still thin, her stomach flat, but she filled out her bathing suit nicely. Her thick black hair fell just above her waist and her silver eyes were shining. She was gorgeous, she could easily be a model.

"I'm Sirius, We haven't been introduced." Sirius said holding a hand out to her, which she took, smiling brightly. By now they had walked back to where Lily and Peter were eyeing them curiously.

"I'm Annabel Lee." She said introducing herself to Lily, Sirius, and Peter.

"I'm Lily, Your parents were Poe fans?" Lily asked her shielding her eyes from the sun.

"Yes! You know, your the first person I've met under 65 who has ever made that connection." Annabel said sitting next to her in the sand, the rest of them followed suit, making a circle.

"Poe?" James said raising an eyebrow, giving voice to Remus, Sirius, and Peter's thoughts, They had no idea what Lily was talking about.

"Edgar Allen Poe." Lily said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The boys must have still worn blank faces because Annabel continued: "Edgar Allen Poe was a muggle poet. He wrote mostly dark poems, and one of his more famous poems, Annabel Lee, is what I'm named after."

"Oh! Do you know the poem?" Sirius said, looking overly interested, which resulted in Lily rolling her eyes at him.

"Of course! Would you like to hear it?" She asked, looking around at them. The mid afternoon sun had given way to sunset, and they were all sitting in pseudo darkness. Lily reached into her bag for her wand and lit a small fire in the center of the circle.

"Sure" Remus said, He glanced around at his friends, they were all looking at her intently and she began to speak;

"It was many and many a year ago

In a kingdom by the sea

That a maiden there lived who you may know

By the name of Annabel Lee

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Than to love, and be loved by me

I was a child, She was a child;

In this kingdom by the sea

But we loved with a love that was more than love

I and my Annabel Lee

With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven

Coveted her and me

And this was the reason that long ago

In this kingdom by the sea

A wind blew out of a cloud

Chilling my beautiful Annabel Lee

So that her highborns kinsmen came

And bore her away from me

To shut her up in a sepulcher

In this kingdom by the sea

The angels not half so happy in heaven

Coveting her and me

Yes! This was the reason, as all men know

In the kingdom by the sea

That the wind came out of the cloud by night

Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we

Of many far wiser than we

And neither the angels in heaven above

Nor the demons down under the sea

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee

And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride

In the sepulcher there by the sea

In her tomb by the sounding sea."

Remus was speechless, it was such a beautiful poem, but so sad. He couldn't help but think that it fit Annabel perfectly.

"That was really gorgeous." Sirius said flinging an arm around her shoulders, she rolled her eyes, but let it rest there.

Remus heard shouting in the distance and he tensed, expecting Annabel to run away.

She met his gaze "It's okay. He died." She said dryly and James immediately changed the subject.

"So, How'd Beauxbatons treat you?" He said drawing everybody's attention away from what she had said.

"Oh it was alright. I wanted to go to Hogwarts since I was a child though, It's probably better I didn't, what with this distraction over here." She said smirking and indicating Sirius who had his arms around her waist and was resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I don't know about you guys but I'm getting a bit hungry, How about we all go shower and change and then we can have some dinner. Your welcome to join Annabel." Lily said smiling, happy to have another female in the group.

"Sure, Sounds like a great idea to me!" Annabel said grinning as she tried to disentangle herself from Sirius.

"Oh come on, You can take a shower with me at Remus' place." He said putting a puppy dog face on.

Annabel raised her eyebrows "Is he always this forward with people that he's just met?" She asked laughing lightly as she snaked out of his grip.

"That's Padfoot, ladies man extraordinaire." James said rolling his eyes.

They all went their separate ways and showered and dressed, When Remus came out into the kitchen, living room area Lily was searching through the drawers for take away menus. There was a knock at the door and Annabel appeared inside, wearing a black tank-top and short denim shorts.

"Hello love!" Sirius called from the couch and pulled her over to him, she giggled. Remus retreated back into the kitchen with Lily, who was watching them and grinning slightly.

"He's laying it on a bit thick isn't he?" Remus asked, trying to keep the contempt out of his voice. He couldn't help but feel a little bit upset, anytime Remus was even a little bit interested in a girl, Sirius would swoop in and steal her.

"She's not buying what he's selling Remus, I wouldn't be too concerned." Lily said knowingly, she always seemed to understand what he was trying to say, even if he said nothing at all. Remus glanced over at the couch where the two of them were sitting laughing and chatting lightly.

They had decided on some basic take away food, and were sitting around the dining table laughing and talking and drinking wine, all feeling sleepy from the sun and slightly drunk.

"So Lily, When's the big day?" Annabel asked indicating the ring that was sparkling on Lily's finger.

"Oh Merlin, I don't know. James just asked me less then a month ago, and what with all the stuff for the Order-" Lily immediately stopped talking, she had said too much.

"The Order? You five are in the Order of the Phoenix?" Annabel asked looking around at them.

"How do you know about the Order?" Remus asked gazing at her from across the table.

"You are not so foolish as to think that Britain is the only country that would be fighting against Voldemort?" She asked him, staring back into his eyes.

"I know of the Order of the Phoenix because I am a member of the French extension." She said taking a sip of her wine.

"Oh wow really? I guess it would make sense for there to be other countries involved." Lily said thoughtfully.

They spent the rest of the evening talking about things concerning the Order, Annabel explained that she had the highest Defense Against the Dark Arts marks of her whole year, and she had already been accepted to the Academy of Auror's in Britain.

"That's wicked! Sirius and I are going there too!" James said excitedly and the three of them began loudly each trying to talk over the other about classes and teachers.

Lily craned her neck around James and rolled her eyes at Remus who grinned. He liked the possibility of her coming to England and becoming part of their group. Remus hadn't made any career decisions yet, he would have really liked to be an Auror, but he was banned from working for ministry because he was a werewolf.

"I'm going off to bed." Peter grumbled and walked out of the room, Remus had noticed that Peter had been very touchy lately, very on edge.

"How about a game of spin the bottle?" Sirius said picking up the empty bottle of wine and raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"There are only two girls here, and one of them is engaged to your best mate." Remus said and Sirius looked dejected and put the bottle down

"'Spose your right." Sirius said and flopped down on the couch.

"I better go, That wine made me very sleepy. Another minute more and I'll end up sleeping on your couch." Annabel said chuckling

"That's fine with me." Sirius said grinning and Annabel rolled her eyes.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow." She said hugging them each goodbye and she disappeared out the door.

They spent every day with her that next week, in fact halfway through she just stopped going home, and summoned her things over as she needed them. It was one of the best weeks of Remus' life, it was definitely the most fun. When their final night came, James and Remus weren't surprised that Annabel had left the day before, and not returned.

"Where do you think she could be?" Lily asked frowning, she had been hoping to invite Annabel to England for a week, it was nice to have some female company.

"She won't come. She never comes to say goodbye." Remus said shrugging, he and James weren't upset this time, for they knew that they would see her again. She would be going to school with James and Sirius! Remus grinned, this was the first time that he ever was guaranteed to see her again and it felt strange. So they packed up all of their things and left the tiny cottage, with heads full of happy memories, and dark sun tans.

Remus stared in the mirror and adjusted his tie. Today was an important day, it was Harry's naming ceremony! Remus was just glad to be back in the company of wizards. He had been undercover in various werewolf packs on and off for the past two years. He barely had time to see his friends son. He made sure he had everything, wand, gift, wallet, before closing his eyes and apparating out of the small flat that he had been occupying the past week.

When he opened his eyes he had appeared on the steps of the Potters home in Godrics Hollow, he made his way inside but the house was empty.

"Oi Moony! Were all in the back!" Remus heard James' voice carry from the backyard, he went to the back of the house and grinned, all of his friends were there.

Little Harry was in Dumbledores arms, he was giggling as he tugged on his beard. Molly Weasley was holding a baby boy, while her twins Fred and George ran circles around her. Remus waved hello to them and sought out James, Sirius and Peter who were standing in the corner talking.

"Hows it going Moony?" Sirius asked him, clapping him on the back.

"It's going alright. The alpha in Greybacks pack has agreed to hear us out. Which is a start, seeing as none of the other Alphas would even let us near them." Remus said sighing, he hated the work that Dumbledore has asked him to do, but he felt he was in debt to the man, so he suffered in silence.

"Thats wonderful Remus!" Lily said walking over and hugging him. Remus smiled, he had really missed his old friends.

"Hello? Is anybody home?" Remus heard a familiar voice call through the house

"Were back here Bel!" Sirius called out, and Remus' jaw fell open. Annabel Lee walked into the back yard smiling brightly

"Remus? Is that you? I've been wondering when you would be coming back!" She said as she walked over next to Sirius, who kissed her on the cheek. Remus had a distinct feeling of falling. He hadn't seen her since the summer he graduated from Hogwarts and she was even more beautiful if possible. She was still very slim, but she seemed to have gained curves in all the right places. Her hair was still waist length and wavy. She wore a pretty white summer dress that was very flattering and wedge heels. He definitely wasn't expecting to see her, James and Sirius had come back their first day of Auror training and said that Annabel hadn't shown up. Shortly after that Remus had gone undercover.

"W-What? Annabel?" Remus stammered, Sirius and James looked at each other and grinned.

"Sirius here tracked Annabel down, and dragged her kicking and screaming to England" James said grinning, Sirius hit him over the head.

"Oi! Children!" Annabel said admonishing them, Sirius and James looked at their shoes, and Lily burst out laughing. Remus just looked around bewildered, this was the last thing he was prepared for.

"I came to do my Auror training Remus, Admittedly a little late." Annabel said shrugging

"She's been here for two years Moony. She took your place!" Sirius said winking and kissed her on the cheek, pulling her close to him, she rolled her eyes.

"I hope you didn't use to do that with Remus before I came along." Annabel said smirking and James spit out his drink from laughing so hard. Sirius glared at her.

"Sirius has been chasing after her for two years. She still won't make it official though." Lily whispered in Remus' ear. He nodded numbly.

"If were quite ready to begin?" Dumbledore said stepping forward with Harry in his arms

"Oh! Yes of course sir" Lily said rushing forward and grabbing Harry, who was still giggling like mad.

"The two god parents are here?" Dumbledore said looking around

"Here!" Sirius said stepping forward

"And Here!" Annabel said stepping next to him.

"Do you Annabel and Sirius swear to guide Harry, to protect him, to ensure his safety, and above all else to love him?" Dumbledore said smiling at them

"We do." Annabel and Sirius said and a jet of light plumed out of Dumbledores wand, wrapping around Annabel, Sirius, James, Lily, and Harry.

"Then the five of you are bound together for life. In happiness and sadness, in sickness and in health, from now, until forever." Dumbledore said, and the light wrapped tighter around them, before sinking into their skin.

Remus walked into the Potters house in Godrics Hollow and was immediately tackled by a toddler with messy black hair and green eyes.

"I take it Harry's mastered walking then, ey Prongs?" Remus said smiling, he regretted the fact that he wasn't able to spend time with his best friends son.

"Mastered is a bit of an overstatement mate." James said, wincing as there was a loud crash from the dining room.

"James! Your supposed to be watching him!" Lily's voice rang out from the kitchen

"Oh come on Lils! Moonys here! I haven't seen him in months!" James whined, Remus grinned, he was happy to see that his friends were apparently unchanged. He hadn't seen them since Harry's naming ceremony.

"Hello Remus! You'll stay for dinner won't you?" Lily called, this time from the dining room where she went to scoop up her son, who had broken her mothers Lenox bowl. _Reparo!_ She muttered pointing at the pieces, which flew back together, much to Harry's delight.

"Only if it's not too much trouble." Remus murmured, looking at his shoes. It had been a long time since he had a home cooked meal.

"It's no trouble at all! We're having steak and mashed potatoes, I know it's close to the full moon so I'll make yours on the bloody side." She said winking, before retreating back into the kitchen with Harry.

"You guys have extra steaks laying around?" Remus said grinning as he and James sat on the couch.

"No, being an Auror doesn't pay that well. We were expecting Sirius tonight, but he's still out looking for Annabel." James said sighing and leaning back on to the couch with his hands behind his head.

"Why is he looking for Annabel? Has something happened?" Remus said, more anxiously then he meant to.

"No, No nothings happened. She warned us the very first day she was in Britain that she would have to go back to France as soon as she finished training here. Lils said thats why she wouldn't 'get involved' with Sirius, even though we all know that he stayed at her place more then his own these last two years." James said sniggering the same way he would when they would catch Sirius with one of his girlfriends at school.

"So they are together then? I was wondering at the naming ceremony." Remus said, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"Unofficially I guess, but like I said she's back in France now working for the Ministry. Full fledged Auror." James said proudly, Remus couldn't help but smile, he was glad that Annabel had James.

"But wait, Wasn't she only here for two years? Isn't Auror training four?" Remus asked bemused.

"Yeah, that's where the shock was. The French Ministry wrote her one day and basically said that they would accept her on the field tomorrow, even though she'd only trained for two years. She had perfect marks in everything Moony, it was insane to watch her train." James said practically bursting with pride.

"Thats brilliant! But why is Sirius looking for her?" Remus asked, ignoring the part of his brain that ached every time it thought of them together.

"She's supposed to be some sort of secret, she didn't give us all the details, but she's not allowed any contact with us, so Sirius decided that he was going to find her and drag her back here to be an Auror for the British Ministry like the rest of us. He's been apparating to France every morning, and apparating back when he gets too tired to keep going. It's the most dedication I've ever seen from him."


	3. Hogwarts Finally

Remus Lupin stood anxiously in a large meeting room in Hogwarts. It was his first meeting with the rest of the Professors since he had joined their ranks, He hadn't given the meeting much thought, as he was too occupied with meeting Harry first. Remus smiled thinking of how much Harry looked like James. His colleagues were milling about, chatting with each other, but everyone fell silent and took their places at the table when Dumbledore swept in. Remus noticed that there was an empty chair next to him.

"Good morning Professors!" Dumbledore said brightly, "Before we begin, I would like to introduce two new teachers that have joined us this year. First is Hogwarts own Remus Lupin." Dumbledore said gesturing to Lupin who smiled awkwardly, He had never had a job where he had to interact with people like this, His previous employment had been going undercover for Dumbledore.

"And our second newcomer is Ms. Annabel Lumineux" Dumbledore continued. Suddenly the door burst open and a gorgeous woman with long black hair and shining silver eyes rushed in

"So sorry I'm late! Had a few more loose ends to tie up in France." She said looking apologetically around the room, Her eyes resting on Remus.

Remus must have looked positively mad, he knew his eyes must be as big a saucers, because the last person that he had expected to burst through that door was Annabel Lee.

"That's quite alright dear, Take a seat there next to Professor Lupin." Dumbledore said indicating the chair next to Remus.

Annabel grinned and took her place next to him, discreetly poking him in the ribs. Remus did his best not to burst out laughing, just seeing her face and hearing her voice brought him back to the summer he was seventeen. He had remembered the surprise and disappointment he felt when James had told him about her lack of communication with the outside world, he had wanted to find her years ago, but nothing ever came of it. He had so many questions to ask her, he couldn't wait for this stupid meeting to be over.

"And Mr. Filch has asked me to include a list of the banned items, and requests that should you see any of the object in a students possession to confiscate them immediately." Dumbledore said passing around three sheets of paper that were filled front to back in teeny tiny print of all the things that were banned this year.

"That wraps it up I think, Enjoy the rest of the day, for the first day of classes are tomorrow!" Dumbledore said smiling, the Professors packed up their papers and filed out of the room.

"How have you been!" Annabel asked him as he showed her around Hogwarts, she was oohing and aahing at everything respectively.

"I've been alright." Remus said, that was the overstatement of the century. The truth was he had been hurled into incredible darkness since the day that James and Lily were murdered.

"How about you? Your a teacher now? I thought you were an Auror. James and Sirius had said that you were working for the French Ministry" Remus trailed off, he hadn't spoken to anyone about James and Sirius in over ten years.

"No. I am an Auror. I did work for the French Ministry up until yesterday." She said as they reached the lake.

"I'm sorry about James and Lily. I cried all week when I heard the news." She said suddenly, her silver eyes rimming with tears.

Remus frowned, he didn't want to tear open that wound again.

He jumped back in surprise when she was suddenly hugging him tightly, he for some reason felt very vulnerable. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held on to her for dear life, as if touching her made him feel stronger against the pain.

"If your an Auror in the French Ministry, what are you doing here in an English school?" He said looking down at her and meeting her eyes, his arms still wrapped tightly around her small waist.

"The French Ministry has been taken. It was infiltrated a bit quicker then the Order had expected it to be. Things are much worse in France." She began sadly

"Everybody in the wizarding community has gone crazy over blood status. You must be of pure blood to hold a Ministry job. Muggle borns have gone into hiding, for they are being hunted seemingly for sport. Both my parents were magical but my father was a half blood, so even though my mum was pureblood, I can't have a job as an Auror in France anymore, Although not many officials were sad to see me go. I have a habit of running in and shaking things up that they would rather be kept quiet." She continued, smiling slightly.

"So when Dumbledore found out that I was out of a job, and in a fair bit of danger, he sent for me to teach here. Although I think it's self serving for him to have as many Order members on staff as possible, and the five time winner of France's most prestigious Aurist awards and a holder of an Order of Merlin isn't a bad addition to the collection." She said winking at Remus and finally backing out of his embrace.

"And so modest too!" Remus said smirking at her.

"Come on, show me the rest of the castle!" She said grabbing his hand, Remus exhaled sharply, trying to ignore the feeling of pure electricity he got from touching her hand.

Annabel looked around the dusty rooms that she would be occupying for the year. Each professor had a bedroom, a sitting room, a bathroom and a study that was attached to their classrooms. She smiled broadly, she had wanted to to come Hogwarts all her life. Ever since her mother had told her stories of the magical place when she was a child, to distract her from her fathers drunken rages.

Annabel shook her head, the old bastard was dead. There was no point in dredging up those old feelings. She waved her wand and muttered _Scourgify!_ The room instantly was clean and sparkling. She waved her wand and her clothes flew into the closets, her pictures flew up on the walls. She stopped for a moment to consider them, She loved one photo in particular, She had forced Lily, James, Sirius and Remus to take a group photo when they had spent that week together in the summer. Looking at Lily and James' smiling faces always brought a smile to her face, but a small twinge of sadness to her heart.

Remus had never known but she had bumped into James shortly after the French Ministry had sworn her to secrecy and wasn't supposed to contact anybody, but she figured that since she had already bumped into him that it was okay. She made him promise not to tell anybody that they had been speaking, and they corresponded letters every week for a while, until one day the letters stopped. She had broken down sobbing when she read in the paper that they had been murdered, and she remembered the sigh of relief when she found out that Harry was alive and okay, and the mind numbing guilt that she had sworn to protect him, Harry was supposed to go to her and Sirius if anything had ever happened to Lily and James, but then everything went so wrong.

She loved the letters from James, they were a link to a life that she really didn't want to leave behind. She remembered laughing out loud at James' descriptions of his sons antics _'He pulled his first prank today! Completely covered Lily in powder while she was changing him_!' He had written that to her shortly before Harry's first birthday, Annabel grinned at the memory.

She was excited to see Harry, she had him in her third year class. Dumbledore had decided to add a new class to the roster, Defensive Training, It was a bit like Defense Against the Dark Arts, but more focused on dueling and self defense. Annabel was grateful for this because this was something that she was well versed in, having been an Auror for nearly twelve years.

Annabel continued getting settled in her private quarters for about an hour, before beginning work on her classroom. She had just put the finishing touches on the classroom when there was a knock at the door.

"_Entrez_!" She called without thinking as she stuck a large poster of Gilbert Blacwin, a world class dueler on the wall.

"Huh?" She heard Remus' voice call out from the other side of the door.

"Whoops, Sorry, Come in!" She called out to him, grinning broadly when he entered. He glanced around the classroom.

"You've been busy." He remarked glancing at the neat rows of desks, posters all over the walls and two chalkboards set up in front of the desk that she would be occupying.

She had neatly arranged her paperwork and lesson plans on the desk by order of when she would have the classes during the day, and her schedule was stuck neatly in the corner.

"Yeah well what have you been doing? Lounging around I suppose" She said smirking at him, suddenly recalling what he looked like as a seventeen year old boy.

"I have accomplished quite a bit thank you!" He said mocking hurt.

Annabel rolled her eyes at him, it was odd they had really only spent three weeks of their whole lives together, but she felt as if she had known him forever. She felt extremely comfortable standing there gazing into his eyes.

"Anyway, If your done attacking my work ethic, I came over to tell you that dinner will be starting soon. And I figured you'd need an escort down to the Great Hall, as it is quite easy to get lost here." He said smiling lightly.

"How chivalrous of you! Just give me a moment." She said grabbing her plain black robes off of the chair behind her. She was dressed casually in a form fitting V- Neck T-Shirt and jeans. Her long hair hung loosely around her shoulders. She was gorgeous unlike any teacher Hogwarts had seen before. The male students would go nuts over her, Remus thought to himself smiling.

"Alright are you ready?" She asked him, stowing her wand in her pocket.

"Yes of course." He said and held an arm out for her which she gladly accepted. They had a nice walk down to the Great Hall, earning a few confused looks from students as they passed. Remus pulled out the chair next to him at the staff table and she sat down thanking him.

"That'll be Harry!" She gasped indicating the boy with messy black hair, sitting next to the youngest Weasley boy.

"How'd you know" Remus said grinning. Harry was the spitting image of his father.

"He's gorgeous! Beautiful! I told them when he was a baby that he would end up being a lady killer!" Annabel said looking down at her late friends son. She had in all honesty been closer to James Potter than anybody else in her life. She told him about any and every problem, He advised her through the death of her mother, and she had admitted to him the entirety of what her father had done to them. She suspected that he was more open with her then he would with with any of his other friends. He often talked to her about the stress of having a family, and the worry he felt about bringing a baby into a world that was in such a state of disrepair. She considered him to be a brother.

"I'm sure he would be thrilled to hear you say that." Remus said smirking. She rolled her eyes at him, taking a bite of mashed potatoes, she hadn't realized how hungry she was.

"I didn't realize that Hogwarts was guarded by dementors." Annabel said taking another bite of food, she thought that was a bit odd.

"It hasn't always been. It's because of the recent escape of Sirius Black that they're here." A pale man with a hooked nose said looking meaningfully at Remus, and then turned away, seemingly not wanting anymore conversation.

Annabel's hand flew under the table and met Remus' gripping it. He held her hand tightly, they had both been caught off guard by the sudden mention of Sirius' name.

Annabel still had a hard time believing that Sirius was the one who had betrayed them.

Sirius who was so fun loving and loyal, Annabel had been in a loose relationship with Sirius for two years, they had practically lived together during that time, they had a very passionate relationship, she never had another one like it, and then to hear what he had done, it made her sick to her stomach.

There was still a glimmer of doubt in her mind though, it just didn't fit. Now if it had been their friend Peter, that she would believe. She hadn't liked him from the start, he was very testy and withdrawn.

The rest of the dinner passed and Remus and Annabel kept their hands firmly clasped under the table,each knowing the others pain.

"Would you like to come to my quarters tonight for a bit of an after dinner drink?" Remus asked her as he released her hand and stood up once the plates had been magically cleared.

"Sure, I would love to!" Annabel said smiling brightly, she was so happy to have found Remus again. She had wanted to contact him as soon as she had heard the news, but when she wrote to Dumbledore to find out his address, he had already gone out of the country.

Remus led her up to his classroom, which had a few photos of dangerous creatures lining the walls, and a rather large chest that was shaking slightly. His private quarters were even more bare bones,the only light in room coming from a roaring fire. He simply had a desk and a moth eaten love seat in his sitting room. and she could see from the open door that his bedroom contained simply a bed. There were a few boxes piled up here and there, and there were a few photographs in dull frames set on the desk. Annabel strode over and picked one up, grinning.

"I've always kept mine out too." She said gazing at the picture in her hands, it was a copy of the photo of herself, Remus, Sirius, James and Lily.

"It's one of my happiest memories." Remus said simply. He didn't want to keep dwelling on the past, it only made him sad.

He motioned for her to sit next to him on the love seat in front of the fire. He handed her a small crystal tumbler of Firewhiskey, and poured a glass for himself. Annabel got comfortable, drawing her legs underneath herself and sipped the Firewhiskey slowly, turning to look at him.

"Are you excited about starting classes? I myself am a bit nervous. I've got no teaching experience at all." Annabel said, her face lit softly by the fire.

"You'll be great. Didn't I once read about you fending off ten Death Eaters at the same time? I'm sure you can handle a room full of teenagers." Remus said grinning at her nervousness.

"Oh I don't know. Death Eaters I can handle, Hormonal teenagers, now that's scary." Annabel said smiling broadly, the looks she had gotten from some of her male students had not gone unnoticed at dinner.

"I'm sure you'll do brilliantly" Remus said reassuringly. The truth was he had the same fears, although his were a bit stronger, if his secret got out he would surely be out of a job.

"Thanks mate." Annabel said, absentmindedly running her finger around the edge of her glass, making Remus' breath catch in his throat.

"Professor Annabel Lumineux." Remus said randomly "I never knew your last name."

"The name doesn't carry that much of a stigma here in Britain so I don't feel so odd using it." She said gazing into the fire

"Why would it have a stigma?" Remus asked a curious expression on his face

"Oh? You don't know?" She asked, he shook his head.

"Well, I don't suppose you would.." She trailed off, thinking for a moment. "My father, Thurston Lumineux was a horrible man. He took pride in being a loyal Death Eater" She said, looking at Remus for a reaction, his face was even.

"He really enjoyed seeing people in pain you know. He wreaked havoc over France for a long time, torturing and killing muggles, muggleborns, and anybody who didn't align themselves with Lord Voldemort. I always suspected that he acted with such fervor in order to balance out the fact that he wasn't pureblood." She continued.

Remus couldn't deny he was a little shocked, He knew that her father was awful because he would hurt her when she was just a little girl, but he hadn't know he was a Death Eater.

"That's why I don't run around France telling people my last name. It's as if saying my last name was Malfoy or Lestrange here in Britain." She explained.

Remus nodded in understanding, he knew that people were quick to judge, and he knew that it was like to be hated based on something you had no control over.

"He got heavily into the drink, which I suppose was a blessing in disguise, though it always made him more violent towards my mother and I, It was probably because he was weakened by alcohol that the Aurors were finally able to do away with him." She said flatly and Remus frowned, recalling the various cuts and bruises she would always show up with.

"It drove my poor mother mad you know. He was so cruel and violent towards her, but when he was killed she couldn't go on with out him. She died by the way. When I was twenty" Annabel said staring into the fire.

"I know." Remus said simply, and she looked over at him in shock.

"How?" She asked furrowing her brows, which made Remus grin.

"It's not like James could keep your letters from me" Remus said looking over at her, hoping that she wouldn't be mad.

"No, I suppose he couldn't" She said smirking "You two were like women, never could keep a secret from each other." She said rolling her eyes.

"He would never show me all of them, he would just share a few snippets here and there" Remus said smiling slightly, he remembered the first time James had showed him one of her letters, he had been insanely jealous that she had chosen to write to James instead of him, but he soon after became grateful just to have some link to her, to know that she was still alive.

Every week he would go over to the Potters and sit in the small alcove with James while he thought of a reply to whatever problem she was facing. He always put great care into them, and there were of course times when James wouldn't share the letters at all, which irritated Remus to no end, but he knew it was good for James to have something private, and somebody to talk to other then himself and Sirius.

======= FLASHBACK======

"Oi, Moony? Do you think we should tell Padfoot and Lils about it?" James said indicating the parchment that Remus held in his hands. It was one of Annabel's letters, written in her curly handwriting. She had been describing the life of an Auror in great detail, it was fascinating to him. Although he did suspect there was another part of the letter that James wasn't showing him.

"I don't think so Prongs. She would probably be mad if she found out you had told me about them, She's supposed to be the French Ministry's secret remember? She also said that she wouldn't be coming back. There's no sense in telling Sirius and having him get all worked up again." Remus said sighing, he was still a little hurt that she had chose to write to James instead of him, even though James had explained a million times that she only wrote to him because they bumped into each other when James was doing some work for Dumbledore in Paris.

"Yeah, your probably right. It's just you know how Sirius still goes on about her. He's been comparing every woman he's met since then, to Annabel. It's probably better we don't mention it, he'd try and go find her." James said looking a little relieved, he didn't even want to tell Remus about the letters, but he knew that Remus would feel better knowing that she was still alive.

Remus had some odd connection with Annabel, and he had been trying to hide the fact that he was nervous about her every time she was brought into conversation since the day Sirius and James had told him that Sirius had given up looking for her.

They all often spoke about their holiday at the beach, it seemed so long ago, a glittering happy memory in a fog of darkness.

The war was coming closer and closer to home, and James wasn't sure anymore if they even had a fighting chance. It felt like everyday he got another notification that somebody else had been murdered, Just the other day Lily had come sobbing into the room to tell him that the Prewetts had been killed.

Annabel gave him courage, she always ended each letter with a vote of confidence in him, as an Auror and often as a husband. He and Lily had been discussing having another baby, but James wasn't so sure it was a good idea. The part of the letter where Annabel had told him 'If we keep putting our lives on hold for Lord Delusional, then there will be nothing to fight for. I'd hate to see you become consumed by the war James, because that will mean that we have lost, in the gravest of ways.' He had decided to keep to himself, and not show Remus.

======END======

The clock on the wall struck half past eleven and Annabel jumped up.

"Merlin! I didn't realize it was so late, I better be going!" She said placing her glass down on Remus' desk. Remus stood up and walked her to the door.

"Thanks for having me Remus, It was really nice" Annabel said to him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Anytime" Remus said suddenly cursing himself for his lack of finesse with women. Annabel gave him a quick hug and then she was off. Remus felt comfortable letting her go on her own because her quarters were simply down the hall.

Remus quietly closed the door and retreated to his bedroom, changing into pajamas. The day had really taken a turn, he woke up this morning dreading today, and the rest of the year, and now he was looking forward to it. He slipped into his bed and relaxed his muscles, it was the first time he felt at peace in thirteen years.


	4. A Woman That Could Kill Me

Annabel woke up that morning feeling a bit anxious. She really wasn't sure if she was cut out to be a teacher, but she knew that she would have to portray the utmost confidence or her students would walk all over her, just as she had done to certain teachers at Beauxbatons.

She dressed in fitted yoga pants and a tight-ish crew neck T-Shirt, and put her hair up in a high pony tail.

She knew that the other teachers would probably look at her strangely as they were all dressed in ornate robes at all times, but her class was mostly physical and the clothes she chose to wear were the most practical.

She swept some mascara on and pulled on her trainers that she loved so much, and then put on her plain black robes again. She looked in the mirror grinning, she'd look more like a student then a teacher.

When she got down to breakfast she received a few odd looks, but she shrugged it off, assuming it was just because they had never seen her before.

As she walked up to the teachers dais, she purposely went slowly past the Gryffindor table were Harry was sitting with a red headed boy and a girl with bushy brown hair.

"I've got DADA with Lupin first. I wonder if he'll actually be a good professor" The brunette said, looking over her schedule with a furrowed brow.

"If he is, It'll be the first one we've had yet" Harry said grinning

"What's defensive training?" The red head said before taking an abnormally large bite of breakfast

"I dunno. I reckon that's what that new Professors here for" Harry said shrugging

"And you would be correct!" Annabel said as she breezed past them, not being able to resist.

When she got up to the teachers dais they were each looking at her curiously, before going back to their conversation.

She took her place next to Remus, who was smiling fondly at her.

"It's hard to resist telling him isn't it?" He asked her as he poured her a cup of tea.

"Yes! I just want to run up and throw my arms around him! It's just so unfair, all of the things that Sirius stole from me, from us." Annabel said sighing, Dumbledore had instructed both her and Remus to keep their relationship with James and Lily a secret for the time being.

"All in good time" Remus said looking at her understanding just how she felt.

"That new Professor is smokin' hot!" Fred said sitting down next to Harry at the Gryffindor table. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I wonder what she's teaching, It can't be Defensive Training, she's too hot for that." George said sitting down across from his twin brother.

"Yeah, She's probably teaching some chick class, like.. Being a Witch in the 21st century" Fred said looking over a fourth year girls shoulder at her schedule, making her blush furiously.

"You two are morons did you know that?" Hermione said glaring at them, they could be so thick.

"Do you ever actually read the Daily Prophet or do you just buy it for the pictures?" She continued, they all looked at her perplexed.

"Annabel Lumineux is an award winning French Auror. She's won the Médaille de L'honneur five times, and she has an Order of Merlin. She took on ten Death Eaters at once and not only lived to tell the tale, but rounded up all ten of them and sent them to Azkaban. She also fought and got away from You-Know-Who at least 4 times. She was the symbol for the French resistance against You- Know- Who." Hermione said smugly, She was glad that Professor Lumineux was here, Hermione had been following her stories in the prophet for the last two years, and had looked her up in the library, where she's listed in many books that pertain to the first war.

"Woah, a woman that could kill me, she just got like ten times hotter!" Fred said grinning, Hermione sighed exasperatedly and went back to focusing on her schedule.

Annabel looked around at her third year class smiling, the beginning of her day went rather well, her first four classes had all paid attention, give or take a few Slytherins, but they all seemed interested in what she had to teach them.

This however was the class that she was looking forward to the most, the class that Harry was in.

She had seated Harry and his friends as far away from Draco Malfoy as possible, on a warning from Remus about their rivalry.

"Hi guys! For those of you who don't know my name is Professor Annabel Lumineux" She said addressing her class, she noticed that Hermione Granger, the girl with the bushy hair that she had seen with Harry earlier was looking up at her intently.

"I was an Auror with the French Ministry for almost twelve years, and I'm here to share some of the things I learned with you." Annabel began

"I'm going to teach you critical dueling skills, as well as hand to hand combat, should you ever become separated with your wand." The boys in the class seemed to perk up a bit at this.

"I pray that none of you will ever have to use what I teach you, but I want you to be prepared should you ever have to defend yourself against somebody." Annabel said, glancing at Harry.

"Like Sirius Black?" A girl she knew as Pavarti Patil from her seating chart, called out. Annabel flinched.

"Yes, Like Sirius Black." Annabel said, turning away from her class for a moment, and then turning back around, she still wasn't used to hearing his name so often. She recovered.

"Who knows the three D's of dueling?" She asked the class, nobody moved.

"Nobody? Alright then, The three D's of dueling are Distract, Disarm, Defend." She said writing each on the blackboard behind her

"If you can distract your opponent, even for a second, it could shift the outcome of the duel dramatically in your favor. Disarming your opponent is important for the obvious reasons, if you disarm them then they have nothing to hurt you with." Annabel said grinning at her class, who had begun writing what she was saying down.

"And lastly Defend, I always stress this the most. Often times people get caught up with trying to hit the other person with a spell, that they get sloppy on blocking. Do not make this mistake. If you ever find yourself in a position where you are dueling against somebody who may be more skilled then you, focus on blocking alone, and wait for your opportunity to strike, for I guarantee that one will always present itself if you wait long enough." Annabel finished, barely remembering why she felt nervous today at all.

She was really enjoying sharing her knowledge with the kids. She spent the rest of the class describing various dueling techniques, and when the class was over all of the kids filed out chattering excitedly.

Annabel yawned as she made her way to the Great Hall for dinner, she didn't sleep well the night before and all day she had been running off of nerves, her fatigue was catching up with her.

She smiled at her new students as she passed them on her way to the High Table, most of them waved back enthusiastically.

She took her place next to Remus and did her best to converse cheerfully, all she wanted to do was go up and collapse in her bed. She tried to hold herself back as the man she had been informed was the potions master, Severus Snape kept butting into their conversation to bait Remus about his friendship with Sirius Black.

"Oh bugger off will you?" Annabel said finally, her patience wearing thin, and she could tell by the look on Remus' face that he was hurt by Snape's harassment.

"Oh I will, But don't think that everybody has forgotten about your relationship with Black." Snape said smirking before turning away.

Annabel felt her lungs deflate, she knew that she had come under suspicion for quite some time after Sirius had gone to Azkaban, it drove her mad to think that anybody thought that she had something to do with betraying the Potters.

"Don't listen to him." Remus said simply, he didn't seem much interested in conversation after that. Dinner finally ended and Annabel found herself back in her room, snuggled into her bed with a good book, before falling into a much needed sleep.


	5. Never Underestimate Any Woman

Annabel had been teaching at Hogwarts for almost two months now and she was rather enjoying it. She loved interacting with the kids, especially the fact that she was beginning to get to know Harry. He really was his fathers son, she had caught him and Ron Weasley sneaking around under the old invisibility cloak.

She also got along with most of the members of the staff _Particularly Remus Lupin._ An irritating part of her brain chimed in, but she ignored it. It was true that she and Remus had become quite close, and she did spend a lot her time with him.

She knew that being at Hogwarts reminded him of his time at school here, and that was probably why he allowed himself to indulge in her immature pranking. Like last evening, word had gotten around about Remus' lesson with the third years on Boggarts, especially the form that Neville Longbottoms Boggart turned into, Professor Snape in his grandmothers clothing.

Naturally Snape was less then pleased about this, and she noticed with delight that because of it, Snape left the room whenever Remus entered it. So the two of them had a grand time chasing Snape around the castle for the better portion of the evening.

When they weren't acting like teenagers they spent time together also, frequently holing up in her office marking papers and tests together.

"When are you going to dust the place?" She muttered to Remus, blowing a cloud of dust off of the bookcase.

"I mean honestly. It's just a wave of a wand." He glared at her before flicking his wand and murmuring _scourgify! _She grinned.

There was knock at the door. "Professor? Professor Lupin?" Neville Longbottom's voice carried through the door.

"We're in here lad, come on through!" Annabel shouted, earning a reproachful look from Remus, she smiled innocently at him.

She knew how it would look, the two of him in his office alone, but most of the students were very aware of their friendship, as they often came in to assist each others lessons, teasing each other unmercifully, much to the students delight.

"Oh Hi, Professor Lumineux." Neville said with a shy wave in her direction.

Annabel briefly wondered if it would be inappropriate to thank the boy for providing her with such a beautiful thing to take the piss out of Severus Snape with, but a glance in Remus' direction told her that _yes_ it would be.

"What can I do for you Neville?" Remus asked looking at the boy kindly, Snape had been extra hard on the poor kid since the Boggart incident.

"I was just um wondering if um I could um take a look at the um book that you um passed around today?" He stammered slightly. Clearly the boy was very self conscious. Annabel decided to be tactful and leave them to it, she knew her female presence was intimidating Neville.

"I'll see you later ey Moony?" She called over her shoulder as she let herself out of the room.

"Sure thing Anna" He shouted back waving at her.

"Don't forget your helping me with my third years today! and I want Neville in top form so don't let loose any Grindylows on him okay?" She shouted as she reached his classroom, he shouted something back but it was muffled by the door.

"Ah Professor Lupin! Right on time as always!" Annabel said smiling when her friend walked into her classroom, the third years whipped around to see him.

Many of them smiling and waving at him, with exception of the Slytherins of course.

"I do always try to be punctual" He said grinning slightly up at her, he knew that the kids loved it when they co taught lessons like this.

"An admirable trait dear sir!" Annabel said smiling broadly, she led him to the front of the classroom and with a flick of her wand send the kids and their desks gliding backwards around the walls to create a large circle.

"Merlin! Next time you move the desks can you do it when we're not in them!" Malfoy screeched as he stood up and attempted to walk over to the center of the circle, but was pushed back several feet.

"What the bloody hell is this?" He asked, trying to get through. Annabel noticed Hermione Granger rolling her eyes in the corner.

"Would anybody hazard a guess as to what this is?" Annabel asked the class, and of course Ms. Grangers hand was up in a shot. Annabel nodded in her direction.

"It's a force field. Very complicated magic, the witch or wizard would draw a line however big they want with their wand, and a force field would keep anybody from getting out or into that area. I've only ever read about it." Hermione said smartly

"Wonderful Ms. Granger! Ten points to Gryffindor!" Annabel said smiling, and the Gryffindor students patted a blushing Hermione on the back.

"Now Ms. Granger was correct, the reason young Mr. Malfoy here can't get through is because I have set into place a force field, which will prevent any of you students from getting to close, or from being hit with a stray spell, as Professor Lupin and I will be dueling." Annabel said smirking as Remus' eyes grew to be as big as saucers and he tried to back out of the room, only to be pushed back in by the force field.

"Anna, you didn't tell me-" Remus began

"Oh stop being a girl Remus. I'll go easy on you, I wouldn't want you to think I've thrown you to the wolves!" She said with a wink. Remus rolled his eyes.

"I think you meant, Will you please go easy on me Remus? Oh Remus I know your a much better dueler then me!" Remus said in a high pitched imitation of Annabel's voice. Earning an eye roll from her, and laughter from the class.

Hermione smiled as she watched her two Professors interact. Anybody could see that Remus fancied Annabel, so much so that the girls in the impromptu _We Love Lupin _club have begun plotting her murder.

Hermione rolled her eyes, She thought Remus was very handsome, but she would be delighted if he and Annabel ever got together. They were so cute! She smiled recalling last week when they hid in the hallway outside the Great Hall, tripping and then saving students before they fell.

Everybody knew it was them, and when Snape came out to reprimand them they ran off howling with laughter, the look on Snape's face was worth the detention that she and Harry had gotten for standing there smiling.

But for all of the girls that loved Lupin, there were a hundred boys who loved Lumineux.

"'Mione? Are you paying attention? You've missed the whole first half!" Ron's voice whispered in her ear, Hermione snapped out of it and looked around the room, everybody was watching on the edge of their seats as Professors Luminuex and Lupin whirled spell after spell at each other.

"Damn." She muttered, she had been waiting for the last two years to see Annabel Luminuex in action, although she knew that she was definitely not going full force.

_Stupefy!_

_Protego! _

_Expelliarmus! _Dodged by Annabel who then cast a jelly fingers curse, causing Lupin to drop his wand.

_Petrificus Totalus! _Lupin fell to the ground with a thud, the class applauded.

"And that dear children, Is why you never underestimate the power of any spell, or any woman for that matter!" Annabel said grinning.

She waved her wand and the force field broke, and the desks and the students moved back to their places.

She muttered _Rennervate! _and Lupin sprung to life from the floor, blushing a little.

"I let her win." He said the moment he stood up, Annabel rolled her eyes and raised her wand at him again, Remus immediately ran for the door.

"See you later!" He called over his shoulder and then he was gone, leaving Annabel and her students in a fit of laughter.

Annabel was walking to the Great Hall for dinner when she noticed the laces on her tennis shoes had come untied. She knelt on the floor tying her shoe, and when she looked up Severus Snape was glowering down at her.

"Why do you insist on dressing like a student?" He asked her acidly. Annabel rolled her eyes.

"To bother you of course." Snape sneered at her

"The students will never respect you if you keep acting like your one of them." He said smirking at her. Annabel immediately stood up, she was not about to be looked down on by this man.

"Oi! Fred!" She called out to Fred Weasley who was trying to escape into the hall without Snape noticing him. Fred immediately walked over and stood by Annabel's side.

"Can you jump up and down Fred?" She said grinning at him, Fred began hopping up and down and smiling like a madman, Annabel smiled, the look on Snape's face was priceless.

"Go get your dinner Fred" She winked at him, and Fred hopped all the way into the Great Hall, laughing like a maniac

"There's more then one way to get respect Professor Snape." She said putting her hand on her hip

"Besides. These students don't respect you. They fear you, There is a major difference." She said, turning on her heel and walking into the Great Hall. Leaving a speechless Severus Snape behind her.

Annabel looked around the Great Hall smiling, the decorations for the Halloween feast were quite nice.

She looked down at the Gryffindor table and saw her godson laughing with his friends and eating dessert. She felt a pang in her heart, it was hard for her to reconcile the Sirius that she had known, and maybe loved, with the Sirius who had contributed to the murder of their best friends twelve years ago.

"Happy Halloween!" Remus said cheerfully as he took his usual seat beside her. Annabel grinned at him.

"Thanks for the duel earlier, I think my third years got a lot out of it." She said reaching for a drink of pumpkin juice.

"Yeah, I informed them all about the fact that I went quite easy on you. They agreed it was obvious I let you win." Remus said with a wink, Annabel grinned broadly.

"If thats what helps you sleep at night Lupin, then by all means." Minerva rolled her eyes at the two of them, but Annabel could see the small smile playing about her lips.


	6. Broken Broomsticks

The first Quidditch match of the year was a castle wide fiasco for days leading up to it. Annabel was of course supporting Gryffindor, and even though teachers were supposed to remain impartial, she had no shame in wearing a Gryffindor scarf around the castle. Annabel had noticed that some of the more ruthless Slytherins were trying to trip up or injure the Gryffindor players before the match, and she punished them severely, having them clean out the chamber pots in the Hospital Wing without magic.

"So I take it you'll be at the match tomorrow?" Oliver Wood asked her as he helped clean up the classroom after the Seventh Years lesson.

"I wouldn't miss it for all the tea in China, Wood." Annabel said grinning at him, he was her favorite Seventh Year, and she admired the passion that he had for the sport.

And so the next day she bundled up in her cloak and her Gryffindor scarf, and went out to the Quidditch pitch with Remus.

"_Mon Dieu!_" Annabel exclaimed as they made their way to the stands "I hope they don't get hurt playing in this." The weather was abominable, it was pouring down rain, thunder and lightening, and the wind was so strong that Annabel had Remus' arm in a death grip to keep from being blown back.

"I'm sure they'll be fine Anna. They're Quidditch players after all." Remus said, looking quite proud. Annabel grinned and rolled her eyes, but watched nervously as the Gryffindor team flew out onto the pitch.

She tried her absolute best to keep her eyes on Harry the entire game, but the wind and rain were making it no easy task.

"I've lost him again Remus! Do you see him at all?" Annabel asked, straining her eyes to see through the elements. Remus shook his head and picked up his magical binoculars, searching the sky for Annabel's godson.

"Found him! He's okay, He and Malfoy are going awfully high though, I think-"

"POTTER AND MALFOY HAVE SPOTTED THE SNITCH!" Lee Jordan's voice boomed over the loud speaker, and Annabel sighed in relief, hopefully one of them would catch the Snitch soon and the match would be over. Normally Annabel loved Quidditch, put these weather conditions were making her nervous, and she wouldn't be able to relax until Harry was warm, safe and dry inside Hogwarts.

"Thank Merlin, then this'll be over soon." She muttered and Remus grinned at her, rolling his eyes at how nervous she was.

"I seem to recall you bragging about how much you loved Quidditch." He said, drawing on a memory he had from the summer that they had shared with his friends after they graduated. Annabel and James had spent ample time arguing over the validity of the new Avignon Archers, the team that she supported.

"I do love Quidditch!" She snapped, irritably, eyes still glued to the sky "I just don't love it when Harry's playing in monsoon conditions."

Remus opened his mouth to respond, but the words died in his throat as felt despair and coldness creep into his soul. He looked up to the sky and saw the black hooded creatures closing in on the stadium.

He quickly pushed Annabel behind him, shielding her with is body as a dementor swooped dangerously close to them.

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM!_" He shouted with all of the force he had, and a silver wolf erupted from his wand, growling, teeth bared. It chased the closest dementors away.

"Are you okay Anna?" He asked, turning around to face her, he knew she had dealt with dementors many times in her life, and was a bit surprised to see the look of absolute terror that was written across her features.

"Anna?" He echoed, she tried to speak, but the words couldn't form, and she raised her wand, pointing at the Quidditch pitch.

Remus looked around quizzically as he saw Dumbledore stand up and copy her motion, both of them echoing the same spell.

Annabel glanced over at Dumbledore as their spells took effect, he nodded, and without a word to Remus, she bolted from the stands, running as fast as her legs would carry her, down to the pitch, where Harry's body was being loaded onto a stretcher by Madame Pomfrey.

"Anna!" She heard Remus calling her name, and she heard heavy footsteps behind her, but she was disconnected from it. All she could see was Harry's unconscious body being carried inside the castle. Annabel made a move to follow him, but Madame Pomfrey stopped her immediately.

"Stay away from my patient. You will be notified when you're permitted to enter the Hospital Wing." The older witch said sharply. Annabel wound her arm back, and honestly intended to punch the woman in the face, but somebody caught her wrist.

"If she's injured, she won't be able to take care of Harry." Remus whispered into her ear. Annabel made a move to protest, but Pomfrey and Harry were already gone, off to the Hospital Wing. Annabel collapsed against Remus' chest in defeat.

If possible, the rain poured down even harder, soaking every inch of them. Annabel's clothes were clinging to her uncomfortably and she was soaked to the bone, but all she could think about was how she had failed Harry yet again. What kind of Auror was she? If she wasn't so in need of the comfort that Remus' arms were providing her, she would run straight to her room and send back all of the awards and medals she'd won in her lifetime, because truthfully, they meant nothing if she couldn't even protect Harry.

"He'll be okay, I promise. He'll be fine. You and Dumbledore both cast cushioning charms, Harry's tough, he'll make it through with a few scrapes, and a really great story." Remus said, rubbing her shoulders, he still held her close, and it occurred to Annabel that he might need comforting just as much as she did, he did after all care for Harry also.

"You're right. You're right. I'm sure he'll be okay." Annabel said resolutely, looking up at him. He smiled softly at her, and she wasn't sure if it was her imagination, or her nerves, or the rain but it almost seemed for a moment, just for a small moment, that he was leaning in to kiss her.

"Professors!" Annabel heard Hermione Grangers voice and she jumped back from Remus as if she were a teenager who was about to be caught doing something wrong. He gave her an odd look, but fixed his face into a calm smile when Granger and Ron Weasley walked over to them.

Annabel noted that Hermione was dry, and had cast a charm that was deflecting the rain. Such a clever girl, only McGonagall was the other person that had that foresight.

"What's up Hermione?" Annabel said, looking at their frantic faces, praying to whatever deity would listen that they weren't about to tell her news about Harry.

"W-We found t-this by the whomping willow." Weasley said, and held up what looked like a pile of twigs and wood, but on further inspection, was the remains of Harry's Nimbus Two Thousand.

"Oh no.." Remus muttered, looking at the destroyed broomstick.

"Is there anything you can do? We t-tried _Reparo _but it didn't work." Hermione said, looking forlornly at the broom.

Annabel shook her head "No.. I'm afraid this is a bit beyond what a _Reparo _could do.. there are all kinds of flying charms and enchantments on a broom, especially a Nimbus 2000. Even if we could get the exterior back together, the broom would be useless."

Ron Weasley looked like he might faint.

"Alright, thank you." Hermione said, and set back to the castle, dragging Ron away with her. Annabel grinned as he heard Ron protest '_You don't even understand Hermione! This is the worst thing that could possibly happen!'_

"Harry's gonna be devastated." Annabel said, turning back to Remus, who was once again giving her that peculiar searching look.

"We should get inside. You'll catch your death out here." He said finally, and somewhere inside of her, Annabel heard the echo of a seven year old boy, somewhere she remembered that those were the first words she ever spoke to him.

Annabel, Remus and Harry's friends and teammates sat outside of the Hospital Wing for about a half an hour before Madame Pomfrey came outside and told them that they could finally come inside.

Remus made a move to stand up with the crowd but Annabel grabbed his hand, and motioned for him to stay back.

"We don't exactly have a reason to be rushing in there with everybody else." Annabel said flatly, she was getting really sick of this whole secret thing.

Remus nodded in understanding and slid back onto the bench next to Annabel, who noticed with a flash that he hadn't released her hand.

They sat like that for another fifteen minutes until the Gryffindor Quidditch team filed out of the Hospital Wing.

Annabel stood up abruptly, dropping Remus' hand from her own, and passed through the gigantic double doors, trying to keep her pace steady.

When Remus and Annabel reached Harry's side, her heart broke for him. He was sitting up in his bed, staring forlornly at the shattered remains of his Nimbus 2000

"Hiya Harry." Annabel said timidly, and he glanced up at her quickly trying to hide the evident sadness.

"Hey." He said quietly, and ever so gently, he placed the broken broomstick on the table beside his bed.

"How are you feeling?" Remus asked, his eyes were scanning Harry for any obvious injuries.

"I feel okay, a bit sore, but Dumbledore cushioned my fall pretty well." He said, rubbing his shoulder.

Annabel stiffened, but smiled softly at him. "Well he isn't the best wizard of our age for nothing."

Harry gave a small forced smile, but his eyes kept drifting back to his broom, and Annabel realized that he would probably rather be alone.

"Alright Harry, we'll see you in class then." Remus said, obviously picking up on that same vibe.

"Yeah..Thanks for coming by." Harry mumbled, before laying back down on his pillow, eyes never leaving the pile of twigs that was now his beloved broom.

"Poor kid." Annabel said, frown etched into her face. She and Remus had escaped the school grounds which were packed with soaking wet kids, dripping water all over the floors much to Filch's obvious discontent, and fled to her quarters, and were currently warming up by a roaring fire, hands clutching warm cups of butter beer as sheets of cold rain pounded fiercely against the window.

"It is unfortunate, but I'm sure Harry will survive." Remus said grinning slightly. He was trying to cheer Annabel up, but it wasn't exactly working.

"If we didn't have to keep everything a damn secret I would buy him a new broom right this instant."

Remus frowned, he shared the sentiment, _If I could afford to buy him a broom that is._ He thought rather bitterly.

Though Hogwarts was paying him well, and not having to pay for rent or meals was allowing him to put a bit of money away, it was by no means making Remus wealthy. Which was a rather uncomfortable fact for him, because he knew that if Annabel so desired, she could outfit the entire Gryffindor quidditch team with brand new racing brooms. She was the heir to both the Lumineux fortune, and the Barrineau fortune. The Barrineau's were a very old French wizarding family that had quite a few ancestors of Veela descent. And where there were Veela, there was money.

Remus knew that Annabel must have a rather sizable amount of gold in her vault at Gringotts, just because of her being an heir to both of those prominent families, but then there was her own work as an Auror in France. It was rumored at one point that she was the highest paid Ministry worker other than the Minister himself, all due to her skill of course, but naturally this didn't go over very will with other Ministry officials. But still, even if she did nothing for the rest of her life, she would be able to live very comfortably, because as far as Remus knew she had no siblings or cousins, leaving her the sole descendant.

Until of course she married and had children..

Thinking of what life would be like once the year was over was one of Remus' most favorite forms of torturing himself. He somehow knew that he wouldn't last more than a year at Hogwarts, besides the position being cursed and all, he knew that his secret would get out eventually. It was not a matter of if, but _when._

And so, Remus would spend his free time on days that he was feeling particularly cruel to himself, imaging what he would be doing at that time next year, and by that same token, what Annabel would be doing.

He had imagined, when he was a child that he would marry Annabel. She had been, up to that point at least, the first person who didn't look at him in shock and horror when she found out that he was a werewolf. In fact, she seemed to have the knowledge before she even began speaking to him. Something in her seven year old heart had told her that he was a werewolf, and it didn't scare her at all. He allowed himself to revert back to this fantasy every time he was feeling particularly lonely, so imagine his surprise when he walked into the Potters back yard to find out that his fantasy wife, was being courted by his handsome, and 100% _human_ best friend.

He allowed himself the luxury of being angry, and jealous for a while. But now that he was here, and was so close to her, each being for the other a rock in a sea of uncertainty, he realized how selfish he was. It would be wrong to even allow himself to entertain the idea of even beginning to feel anything for her other than friendship. Even that was dangerous. People who were friends of werewolves were looked down on in wizarding society, quite a few people were ostracized for having relationships with werewolves. She was taking a great risk to even be seen talking to him at Hogwarts, let alone parading their friendship around for everyone to see. A lot of times Remus lay in bed at night, thinking that he should break off all ties with her, he knew it would confuse and hurt her, but he knew that in the end, it would be better for her.

But the problem was that to Remus, he _was_ selfish. She was too special, too fun, too perfect to cut out of his life completely. He wouldn't be able to bear it, knowing that she was living just down the hall and not being able to pop in pretty much whenever he felt like it for a cup of tea or just a chat. He had made a fatal mistake, and that was he let himself get close her. Running around Hogwarts and playing pranks like he was in his Seventh Year and carefree again. He allowed her to make him happy, and because of that, it was going to be very hard for him to let her go.

So, he made himself practice. When he would think about his future (probably back to being a salesman, living in a shoddy apartment until either his landlord, or his boss found out about his _condition_ and threw him out) he would imagine hers. Married to a big shot Auror or ministry official, with a gaggle of smiling, beautiful, grey eyed, pale children.

He imagined running into her on the street:

"Remus! is that you?" She would say in surprise, taking in his bedraggled clothing and unconsciously corralling her children away from him.

"Yes, yes it's me. How are you?" Remus would ask, feeling awkward about his appearance and generally wishing he was dead.

"Oh I'm marvelous!" She would explain, gesturing with her hand that was boasting a rather large wedding ring. "My husband Thomas and I just got back from Cannes, can you believe it? The Ministry was so thankful for all of his work that they allowed him an entire week off and he whisked us away to France! I haven't been back in years you know, oh it was just delightful!"

Remus would smile, and give a non-committal answer like 'Wonderful' or 'Lovely'.

"It was fun catching up Remus, and I am sorry about not inviting you to the wedding, but you know I didn't want any of our guests to make a scene. You know how it is dear. Ta!" She would say, and then she would turn and leave, with her gorgeous children around her, asking 'Who was that strange man.' to which she would reply 'Nobody dear, now lets get you all new wardrobes just for the hell of it!'

He wasn't so sure why he made his future Annabel so mean, but he figured that making her intolerable would make him feel better. Somehow, it didn't.

It was during one of these times, when Remus was sitting in the teachers lounge, a large room with heavy wooden desks and ornate chairs with velvet upholstery that housed several book cases conducive to teaching and ancient material that might have needed to be called upon for a lesson, that he was dreaming up one of his scenario's, when Dumbledore swept in.

"You know Remus, the worst kind of prophecies are those that are self-fulfilling." He said, looking over his half moon spectacles with clear blue eyes. Remus did not appreciate the knowing look on his face.

"I'm not sure what you mean, sir." He said, running his hand through his previously neat hair.

"I think you do. All I wish for you to do is examine the facts, what you see now, in front of your eyes about _people_ rather than society as a whole. Do not let an image of a foggy.. and rather unlikely future, ruin the happiness you feel today."

And with that, he swept out of the room, radiating knowledge and power, and something else that Remus couldn't honestly begin to fathom.

So, he did away with his nasty and rather rude future Annabel, and focused on the time he had with the present one, the real one. She was as happy and fun and heart stoppingly beautiful as ever, and Remus decided resolutely that he would appreciate her for what she was now, and not paint her as being awful in the future simply because they would never be together, because that wasn't her fault.

For once in his life Remus Lupin was living in the moment, and he was loving every minute of it.


End file.
